LONDON, Sept. 23 (Xinhua) -- The number of mortgage approvals in Britain slumped to a record low of 21,086 in August, the British Bankers' Association (BBA) said Tuesday.

    This marks the lowest level since the survey began in 1997, down from 58,564 in August 2007, when mortgage lending had already started to slow, the BBA said.

    Mortgage lending was at 2.1 billion pounds (about 3.7 billion U.S. dollars) in August, less than half the average level of 4.7 billion pounds (about 8.4 billion dollars) for the previous six months, it added.

    The BBA blamed the decline on falling property prices, economic pressures on households and tighter lending criteria.

    Uncertainty regarding the government's announcement of stamp duty also suppressed or delayed demand in August, it said, adding that these factors will continue to impact the mortgage market in the months ahead.